Integra's Spelling Lesson
by LadyNemisis24
Summary: Integra and Alucard? The bloodsucker and the knight? Nah, never... unless someone gives a little help... The title is a pun, and the story does not suck as much as the title does. :-
1. Chapter 1

**Integra's spelling lesson – part 1**

_Standard caveat applies.  I don't own Hellsing or any of it's related characters.  And now I have the hang of this, y'all can have the story as it was intended._

A figure moved in the darkness beyond the circle of candle light.  "Is it done?" a soft, masculine voice asked.

"Yes," a female voice responded.  "Although I just wanted to ask-"

"Do not ask questions, and I will be forced to tell no lies.  It is a prank, a joke, nothing more."

"Oh.  Well.  In that case…  It should be working now, anyway.  Pretty amusing prank, though.  And most people don't use witchcraft for something like this."

"Forget this ever happened."

"Sure, sure."  A pause.  "About my money…"

"It is in your account."  A door opened and closed, almost soundlessly.

"Right," the female said.  Within the circle of candles, she turned to look at the small wax figure lying in the chalk markings on the table.  The long blonde hair, the blue eyes, the glasses.  "A prank."  She giggled.  "Man, I wish I could see this."

Integra glared at Alucard.  "I just gave you an order.  Obey me!"

The vampire glided closer.  "As you wish, my master," he whispered, as he took her into the circle of his arms and brushed the hair from her neck.  One hand settled at her slender waist, pulling her tight to his body, the other first stroking, then cradling her face.  Integra closed her eyes, lips parting in ecstasy as Alucard drove his fangs into her throat.

"Oh, Alucard, yes," she moaned.

Integra exploded from sleep, her nightgown drenched with sweat, her hands flying to her neck as she sat up, gasping.  Shivers wracked her body as the memory of her dream seared through her mind.  She grabbed her glasses, settling them as she staggered from her bed.  With shaking hands she lit a cigar and inhaled deeply.  Her nerves began to calm as the familiar setting of her bedroom grounded her, yet minute tremors continued throughout her body.

She sank onto the end of her four poster bed, not yet willing to return to sleep.  _What a dream!_ she thought.  _I must have been working too hard of late.  That must explain it._  Integra wrinkled her nose at the smell of stale sweat that rose from her night wear, and stubbed the cigar before ridding herself of the offending garment.  Sleep sucked at her again as she slid into another night gown and crawled into bed.  _A disturbing, horrible dream, but only a dream._  Yet Integra's last thought before she fell asleep was not of horror, but of excitement.

She locked her arms around Alucard's neck as he rose above her, luminously pale and perfect.  His long, unbound hair swept her naked side as he lowered his head to kiss her.  Their mouths met, lips parting, tongues dancing.  As he kissed his way down her neck she arched her back, pushing her body against his and moaning in pleasure.  He nipped the skin above her collarbone, lapping the blood from the tiny wound with a rough tongue.  Integra writhed beneath him as he raised his head and met her lips once more, his hands gliding over her skin, one cupping her breast, the other sliding down, down, over her flat stomach, lower…

Integra was pale as she pulled the brush through her long hair.  She slipped into the suit jacket and adjusted the blue tie and gold cross at her throat.  She still could not shake the sensations of the dreams of the night before.  _His hands on her skin, the touch of his mouth on hers…_  Integra slammed her fisted hands into her dressing table.  _No!_ she raged silently.  _I will not feel this!_  Even as she fought it, the feelings slid over her again.  _A line of burning kisses down her breast, a cool breath raising goose bumps on her skin._  Her entire body ached and trembled.  _He is not human!  He is a vampire!  A monster!_  She forced herself to take a deep breath, then another, as she repeated this mantra to herself.  As she left her bedroom for her study, she had achieved some measure of calm.  As Walter entered with the breakfast tray, she was able to convince herself that she was OK, calm, and in control.

Integra sipped her fourth cup of tea for the morning as she went through the correspondence that merited her personal attention.  Some society invitations; which she threw in the bin, an official request for more funds from the new commander of her private army; which she granted, and a letter sealed with the signet of the Vatican's Section XIII, the Iscariot Division.  Integra drew a breath, then slit the letter open.  The envelope fluttered to the table as she read.

The letter crumpled to a ball in her fists as soon as she was done.  _How dare they!_ she raged, slamming her hands onto the table with a full throated snarl of fury.  _Those condescending assholes!_  In a sweetly worded document, Iscariot offered to absorb the remainder of Hellsing into its own ranks to make up for Integra's recent losses, so that the "work" could continue unabated.  The only price for this generous offer was that Alucard and Celas Victoria be destroyed.  _Never!  Not while I have breath will Hellsing give up!  Especially to __Vatican__ swine!_

She hurled the ball at the waste basket, and missed.  In her rage, as she rose to storm about the room, she did not notice Alucard appear and pick up the creased letter from the floor.  As she spun, Integra crashed into him and rebounded a step, one foot miring the other.  She was headed for the floor when Alucard caught her by her upper arms and steadied her.  His grin was in full force as he looked at her.

"Something wrong, my master?"  His silky voice dripped sarcasm, but Integra didn't notice.  With the touch of his hands on her body, the memories of her dreams returned.  She couldn't look away from his mouth, couldn't help the blush that rose to her cheeks, couldn't stop thinking of how he would look naked.  Some of this must have leaked through to Alucard, as he let go and stepped away, frowning slightly.  "Master?"  Integra clenched her hands until her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood even through her gloves.

"Leave me.  Get out.  Now."  Her voice was strangled.  She finally managed to look away, out the window, and concentrated on her breathing.

"Master."  It was a puzzled Alucard that withdrew, and left Integra alone once more.  She wrapped her arms around herself, shuddering; head tipped back, eyes closed.  _What the hell just happened?_  Fear, confusion, rage and lust ran through her, as she stepped close to the window to press her flushed face against the cool glass.  _I am in control!_ she thought to herself, and knew it was a lie.

Integra paced her bedroom.  She had summoned Walter, advised him that she wasn't feeling well, then retired to her room for the rest of the day.  _What is going on in my mind?  I have never seen Alucard as other than a monster, a vampire, a tool to be used.  Why do I now desire him?  _Even thinking this caused shivers to chase their way over her skin.  _And how did I lose control so badly over a letter?  How could one piece of paper inspire such rage?  I should know what to do._  "But I don't," she said aloud, miserably.  She sank down on her bed, emotional exhaustion setting in.  She removed her tie, cross, and glasses, then stripped off her gloves and jacket.  _Just a nap_, she thought, the edges of her vision going dark.  _Maybe I'm too overworked._  Integra sprawled across the pillows, fast asleep.

Integra stretched herself above Alucard, kissing down his chest, watching him as he watched her.  His nipples were pale; almost the same color as the rest of his torso, but darkened as she flicked her tongue over them.  He grabbed her, rolled her over easily, and hungrily pressed his lips to hers.  She felt the pressure of him between her thighs, and she trembled all over, wanting him so badly there was an ache low in her stomach.  "Please," she whispered, when he lifted his head.  "Oh, please, Alucard."  The words turned into a moan as he took her nipple in his mouth and bit gently.

Alucard was in his chair in the basement, rolling a glass of dark blood between his palms.  He was agitated, a rare state of mind for him.  For a moment, just a moment that morning, he had felt the sensations rising from Integra, and they had stunned him.  First the tidal wave of rage, then incredible lust, filling the air with the smell of copper and lightening, but only _after_ he had touched her.  He could understand the rage if it had continued after he had his hands on her, but lust?  It just was not Integra.  Now Walter said she was ill, and didn't want to be disturbed.  Again, it was not his Master.  He had seen her at her desk when she was younger, so sick she was receiving penicillin shots, but continuing to work.  _Something was wrong._

And yet here she was.  His time sense told him it was just after midnight as he watched Integra walk along the corridor towards him.  As he place the glass back on the table, he noticed enough details to disturb him.  Her hair was in disarray, her tie and cross pin missing, her shirt open to show a triangle of skin at her throat.  _Something was very wrong._  He did not say a word as she crossed to stand just in front of him.  There was an odd blankness to her eyes, and the smell of copper and lightening filled the air once more.  Alucard watched as she lifted his hand from the table and pressed it to her face, her eyes closing, as she pressed a kiss to his gloved palm.  His name left her lips as a sigh as she rubbed her face along his hand, and her other hand extended to stroke his face.

Alucard shot to his feet, but instead of moving back, Integra pressed closer, the hand that was stroking his face tangling in his hair as she pulled his face close to hers.  "Alucard," she pleaded in a whisper, "help me."  Then her mouth met his.  It was as if a fire burned between them.  Alucard found himself pulling her close, kissing her back.  She opened her mouth to him, and when he opened his, she played her tongue over his fangs.  Their bodies molded together in a timeless moment, mouths working, hands wandering over each other.  Alucard broke the kiss with a ragged gasp, and Integra buried her face in his neck, kissing and licking what skin was offered by the high collared shirt and tie he wore.  Even as she did that, she whispered again, "Help me.  Stop me."  She lifted her hands, trying to work the tie away, and when he grabbed them and pushed her back, she made a little moan of disappointment and tired to squirm closer.  Her mortal strength was no match for his as he fended her off, so she remained at arms reach, panting and struggling to get closer.  He looked into her eyes and saw a tiny bit of Integra left, horrified with what was happening, but most of her was a needful thing, whimpering and moaning.

She looked so beautiful, standing there, her lips a red smear, her skin flushed.  As is she read _his_ mind, she shook her hair back and tilted her head, giving him full access to her throat as a sultry stare.  He had her helpless, her hands pinned, no weapons.  She was _offering_ herself to him, giving him what he wanted, what he'd always wanted since he had licked her blood from the floor of the stone room where he had been a prisoner for so long.  _So why did it feel so wrong?_

"Master," he murmured, his voice deep and rough.  "What has happened to you?"  She didn't reply, just continued to offer him her throat.  He saw she was beyond the capacity for rational though anyway.  "I cannot do this."  He paused.  "Well, actually, I _can_, but I won't.  Something here is not right at all."  Alucard simply let go and disappeared, vanishing into the shadows, but keeping a watch over her.  She looked around, seemingly puzzled, then a lustful smile curved her lips.  Slowly, seductively, she undid the top buttons of her shirt, then slid the material from her shoulders.  With one hand she reached for the wine glass, with the other she bared her neck.  Integra smashed the glass against the table top, spilling cold blood every where, and leaving jagged shards behind.  She lifted the sharp stem leisurely, tauntingly; she drew it down and over her throat, leaving a red line behind.  The scent of hot blood filled the corridor as she lowered the remains of the glass, and looked around triumphantly.

Alucard was rooted to the spot.  She was the most incredible thing he had ever seen; pale skin, red blood, and that smile, promising everything and anything.  Almost without conscious thought he rematerialized in front of her, his head filled with the scent of her.  He couldn't bring himself to resist as she tangled her hand in his hair again and pulled his mouth down to her throat, her other hand sliding over his back.  His lips parted as the scent of her hot, sweet blood washed over him, drowning out almost everything else.  Alucard's mind screamed at him, but the precious fluid in front of him overwhelmed him, and he closed his mouth on the wound in her neck.

Bliss swamped him, and he pulled Integra tight to his body, a sound of rapture escaping him, yet not drowning out her sigh of pleasure.  She relaxed utterly against him, her arms winding around him.  The taste of her was fire, and lightening, and steel, mixed with strength and surety and the earthy tang of a woman's body.  As he fed, his mind entwined with hers, and he felt her sincere pleasure.  Alucard also heard, in the depths of her mind, her screams.

With a cry, he shoved Integra away, sending her flying past the table to crash into the wall.  His entire body was shaking and he spun away, desperately trying to control the raging hunger that burned in him.  He had to force himself to look at his Master, crumpled at the base of the wall.  Concern drove him to his knees at her side, but her dragging breath reassured him that he hadn't killed her in his uncontrolled moment.  He could not tell from the scent of her whether he had broken anything or not – the only thing he could smell was her blood.  Carefully, repeating to himself over and over who she was, he gathered her into his arms.  Her warm blood tricked down her neck and over her shirt, and Alucard found himself enraptured, staring at its color.  He had to drive his fangs into his own lip, tasting his own blood, to break its hold on him.  He vanished from the basement corridor, holding Integra close to his heart.

Alucard reappeared in Integra's bedroom, and laid her on the bed, placing a pillow beneath her head and putting her shirt back in place to cover her attributes.   He stood, just looking at her for a few moments, then allowed himself to slide out of focus, spreading himself between the human world, and the next, the world of spirits.  A thin, pale gold cord touched the considerable aura that surrounded his Master, which swirled with the colors of sex and rage, even in her unconscious state.  He could follow that cord, and find out the cause of her behavior.  But he first owed a warning to Walter.

"_She did what?_"

"She's sleeping now.  Watch her.  Don't let her leave the bedroom, even if you have to chain her to the bed."

"Shouldn't you stay and protect her?"

Alucard looked over his tinted glasses at Walter, a grin stretching his lips.  In a whisper, he asked, "What if I'm the thing she needs to be protected from?" 

"But-"

"Someone put a spell on my Master."  Alucard removed the Jackal from his coat, triggering the release of the clip, checking to see if it was full.  He slapped it back into place with a sound somewhere between a click and a snap.  "I intend to give them the time to regret it."  With that he was gone.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	2. Chapter 2

**Integra's spelling lesson, part 2.**

_Standard caveat applies.  I don't own Hellsing or any of it's related characters.  And it makes far more sense with the formatting applied._

Walter frowned at the closed door.  He couldn't believe what Alucard had told him.  Even under the influence of a spell, Sir Integra couldn't, wouldn't do hurt herself.  _She needs to be protected from herself_, Alucard had said.  Composing himself, the retainer knocked on the bedroom door.  "Sir Integra?  It's Walter, may I come in?"  There was no answer.  Walter pushed the door open a little bit and peered around it into the rich room.  Integra was sprawled on the bed, fully clothed, and there was blood on her shirt.

Walter shoved the door open, entered the room, and bent over her, worry etched in every line on his face.  Her shirt was almost completely unbuttoned, her hair was tousled, and there was blood on her collar.  Walter gently turned her head to see the wound, and frowned deeper as he realised it wasn't a bite mark, but a cut, with a pink mark over it.  Whatever had happened, it was very different to Alucard's explanation.

The old retainer padded into the bathroom for cold water and a cloth to clean the blood from Integra's throat, mulling over possibilities.  A spell, Alucard had said.  _What if I'm the thing she needs to be protected from?_  Walter stopped dead halfway between the bathroom and the bed, cloth and bowl in hand.  He looked again.  Tousled hair, shirt unbuttoned, pink skin…  Could it be a hickey?!  Walter didn't know whether to laugh or curse as he began to gently wash Integra's neck.  Luckily Alucard had stopped… whatever it was that was going to happen.  Walter linked the vampire.  It would have been a shame to have to kill him for Integra's sake.

Integra woke just as he was finishing cleaning her neck.  She grabbed his wrist with surprising strength and rasped, "Where's Alucard?"

"Sir Integra, you're not well.  You need to rest," he answered.  She cursed him in language that made him blink.  He never would have guessed she knew those words, let alone what they meant.  She tried to shove him aside to rise, but he managed to prevent it.  "Sir Integra, please, you are not yourself!"  They continued to tussle, Integra fighting with a strength that belied her slender body.

Walter saw what had to be done.  "Please forgive me, Sir Hellsing."  He let go of her for an instant, and she shot into a sitting position.  His monofilament wires snapped out, wrapping around the bedposts before snapping around her shirt cuffs.  She was dragged to her back, her arms pinioned above her head.

If Walter thought her cursing before was inventive, it was nothing compared to the vitriol she showered him with now.  At the top of her lungs.  In three languages.  It was unfortunate that Seras took that moment to look in the door.

There was Integra, writhing on the bed, kicking and spitting curses, her arms bound above her head and her clothing in disarray.  There was Walter, his own hair and clothing mussed, holding her in place.  Seras' mouth opened wide enough to show her tonsils.

"Don't just stand there, Miss Victoria, get something to tie her with," Walter barked.  "I stand a very good chance of slicing her hands off."  Still she just stood there.  Walter lost what little patience he had.  "Move, girl!"  Seras blinked, then fled.

There was a disturbing blankness in Integra's eyes that Walter didn't like.  She was running out of curse words, and so was mixing them up with snarls, yells, orders to release her, and demands to see Alucard.  Despite his best efforts, his wires were slicing through her sleeves and making her wrists bleed.  He was trying to think of what to do when Seras rounded the door once again, a woolly scarf in one hand and a pair of handcuffs in the other.

"All I could find," she said, racing over to the bed.  She managed to tie Sir Integra's arms with the scarf and cuff to the bedposts, and Walter released the wires with an audible sigh.  Integra's struggles had slowed, but she still swore.  Walter leaned over her and plumped pillows behind her back, and was attempting to clean her wrists when she bucked on the bed, lashing out with her feet.  She managed to kick Walter in the hip, sending him staggering back.

Integra glared from the bed.  "Get the fuck away from me," she snarled.  Her eyes were glazed and empty.

"Very well," Walter said softly.  "I only hope you will forgive me, Sir Integra."  He turned and left the room, dragging Seras with him.  The door clicked shut behind them, and Walter leaned against it, waiting for what he knew would come next.

Seras lost her battle to keep silent.  "What was going on in there?  Master told me I had to help you, but-"

Walter interrupted her.  "He told you?  When?"

"Oh."  Seras raised her hand and touched her temple.  "He spoke to me in my mind.  But he didn't tell me what's going on."  The last comment was spoken in an almost whining voice.

"Alucard says Sir Integra is under some sort of spell, and that she is dangerous to herself.  Until he returns, she needs to be restrained for her own good."

"I've never heard _anyone_ swear like that," Seras commented in a thoughtful voice.  "I'm just glad I kept part of my cop gear."  Then she froze.  "Oh no.  I don't know if I've got the key!"  She spun and dashed off.

Walter shook his head at her retreating back, then pushed himself away from the door.  He would need to find a chair, and station himself outside Sir Integra's bedroom, and hope that Alucard hurried.  And that Miss Victoria found the key.

Alucard watched from the shadows.  The trail he had followed ended here, in this plain, nondescript room.  The only unusual things in it were a circle of candles surrounding a table, and a dark haired woman weeping softly on the floor.  The air inside the circle of candles was hazy and indistinct, with the table's top covered by a fog that eddied and swirled, reflecting the candlelight.

He stepped forward, into the room, the Jackal already out and pointed at the woman's head.  He deliberately allowed himself to make noise, and watched as her head came up.  She stared at the gun, then at him, as fresh tears spilled from her eyes.  Alucard saw no surprise in them.

"So.  It's you."  Her voice was dull.  "Are you going to shoot me now?"

Alucard reached out psychically and tried to read her mind, but it was no use.  There was a shield of some kind blocking his access.  "Is there a reason I should?" he questioned.

"I put a spell on your boss, to make her loosen up.  He said that you asked him to get it done, so that you two could finally…" the woman left it hanging.

Alucard said nothing, continuing to stare at her.

"But something went wrong.  He gave me photos, and a poppet, but it wasn't supposed to get this intense."  She waved her hand at the table.  "And now I can't even get into the circle to break it off."  More tears fell.  "I'm already being punished.  I've lost my magic.  I can't feel my power any more.  All for money."  She bowed her head as tears splashed down on the hands folded in her lap.  "My gods have deserted me."

He stepped around the woman, getting closer to the candles.  Their flames were unwavering, standing a good six centimetres in height.  The candles had no wax drippings, nor pools of wax beneath them.  He was willing to bet they'd stayed this way since the fog, or whatever it was, had been placed over the table.  Alucard stretched out a gloved hand, and met resistance just outside the circle, slick and cold like marble.  The sigil on the back of his glove began to burn with bloody fire as he pressed harder and harder, to no effect.  Out of patience, he took one step back, lifted the Jackal and fired.  The bullet hit the shield and stuck, hanging in mid air.

The woman on the floor had flinched at the gunshot, then cowered even more as Alucard loomed above her.  He slipped off his glasses so his stare would be more effective.  "Where is he, the one who paid you?" he asked, his voice dangerously silky.

She trembled, hunched over with the look in her eyes of a bird confronted by a snake.  "I don't know," she whispered.  "He just went.  I was to keep this up for three days.  The circle went solid on the second, today, just before I realised it was more potent than I thought."

Alucard leaned closer, making sure she could see his fangs.  "What is his name?"

It seemed she stopped breathing for a moment, transfixed by the sight of his elongated incisors.  "He never told me," she managed finally in a squeak.

Alucard straightened slowly, seeming to take forever to reach his full height.  His crimson eyes burned into hers, and saw she spoke the truth.  "How do I break the barrier?" he demanded.

"Kill him."  Her reply was soft and short.  "I don't think he'll drop it if you ask nicely."

He nodded, having expected no less.  The Jackal rose again as he asked a final question.  "Is there a reason why I shouldn't kill you?"

She closed her eyes.  "No.  My life is empty without the magic.  Shoot, and you'll be doing me a favour."

He lowered the Jackal and grinned.  "There's a reason to keep you alive."  He turned away again, back to the circle.  Alucard spread himself out of focus again while staring at it.  The barrier was now visible, shimmering with a rainbow hue and backed by a dark grey.  The fog was still opaque, but was now a darker grey, matching the colour on the barrier.  Looking around the room, he saw a few dark grey splotches on the floor, and also on the handle of the door.  The grin grew wider and meaner.  His enemy had given him something to track.  How thoughtful.

Only a vampire would have noticed the man shaped distortion moving across the lawns of the Hellsing manor.  It hesitated at the grand entryway, then glided over the threshold and up the main staircase to the second floor.  Again, it hesitated, shifting, pulsing, then continuing down the darkened hall toward the old retainer at its end.

Walter spilled out of his chair, never knowing what hit him.  Integra's bedroom door opened, closed, locked.

Integra ran her eyes over her bed's canopy for what seemed like the millionth time that day.  Her arms were aching slightly from being tied to the bedposts, but it was bearable.  Most of the day was hazy, lost.  Her throat hurt a bit – had she been yelling?  In her clear-headed moments, she realised that for most of the day she was either drowned in rage or coated in lust and daydreaming about Alucard.  When she was clear minded, it alternately terrified and amused her.  When she raged, it made her angry.  When she lusted, well…

Her head snapped around as the door opened and closed.  She registered that no one had come through when she heard the lock click.  "Who's there?" she demanded sharply.

A ghostly chuckle filled the air at the same time a crawling heaviness did.  Integra felt herself pushed down and back into her pillows as weight filled her body.  She watched as a man stepped out of thin air, and bowed with sarcastic perfection.  He had hair that fell to the middle of his back in a series of messy, fog coloured curls.  Tanned skin, a long grey duster, black pants and an elegant white shirt matched the high browed, almost pretty face and a pair of clear, jade-green eyes.  Integra struggled to speak as he approached the bed.

"Don't worry," the stranger said in a mock cheerful voice.  "It's just a handy little spell.  Makes the air heavy to everyone but the caster."  He passed his hand over her head and down her face, then frowned.  "I don't believe it.  Either you've far more control that I would have dreamed possible, or your vampire is a eunuch.  You shouldn't have been able to fight that lust off, not after the trigger I sent you."  He saw the expression in her eyes.  "Oh, you liked my little letter?  Pity if obviously didn't work.  Rage is the down side of intense lust, but you're still a virgin."  He rolled her head sideways, carelessly, on the pillow, gazing at the mark on her neck.  "Well, well.  You've been tasted, but not bitten.  How interesting."

"You – bastard," Integra managed in a whisper, rolling her head back to glower at him.

"Yes, I know."  He paused.  "Since I am going to kill you, I can gloat about my little scheme.  Then at least someone will know how well wrought it was."  He lowered himself to kneel on the bed and crawled to tower above her.  As he spoke, he unbuttoned her shirt and pushed it aside, smiling at her attempts to move or fight back, smiling at the revulsion in her eyes.

"You see, if I could force you to take the vampire into your bed, there were two outcomes.  One, you'd kill him afterwards, and make sure he stayed dead.  Two, he'd turn you or rip you apart, and you'd no longer be his master.  With either of these scenarios, Hellsing loses its trump card against the vampires.  Therefore, I get my pay.  My only problem was that my magics don't spark lust, so I found some else's whose could and amplified them.  Follow me so far?"

He'd completely bared the sensible white bra she wore and was completely ignoring her glares.  "Now I'll have to be inelegant and kill you, knowing that at worst, all Alucard will do is revel in his freedom and leave the country.  At best, he'll rip through this entire organization, in payback for his generations of servitude."  Reaching around to the small of his back, he pulled out a gleaming knife with a six-inch blade.  He placed the tip beneath the undergarment's lowest edge and sawed upwards, slowly, tauntingly, cutting through the fabric easily.  Integra managed to squirm, just a bit, making the knife slip, and leave a small, bleeding scratch just over her heart.

"Now, now, Ms Hellsing, we can't have that just yet.  I _am_ going to gut you like a freshly butchered pig, but it seems such a shame to waste all that gorgeous unsullied flesh."  He grinned as her eyes became huge.  "Ah, at last, something the lady fears."  He cut through the last piece of fabric and her breasts sprang free as he chuckled.  Integra let all of her hate and rage show in her eyes, not fighting the fury that rode her as she glared at him.  His grin got wider.  "Don't worry, I'll make sure it doesn't hurt.  Much."  He lowered his head and body, moulding himself to the line of hers as he clamped his mouth over her lips.  Integra fought to struggle, fought to scream, as he lifted his head with a satisfied laugh.  "Your vampire is probably hiding himself somewhere, hoping not to damage his precious Master.  You know," he said in a joking voice, "some like it rough, and then there's vampires?"  He laughed again.  "You can't call him, so he won't come."  The hand without the knife moved down to squeeze her breast.  "You're all alone, little Hellsing, so why don't you enjoy the ride?"

There was a clicking noise to Integra's left, and a deep voice said "I really don't like people so in love with the sound of their own voices.  And I wouldn't say she's alone."  Both Integra's eyes, and those of the stranger flicked over to Alucard, standing between the bed and the window, sighting down the length of the Jackal.  The magician's reaction was to press down further onto Integra and bring the knife up to press it to the soft spot just below her ear and beside her jaw.

"Shoot me and you kill her," he snarled.  "I won't hesitate, Nosferatu."

"I see," Alucard rumbled, lowing the gun, the holstering it.

"Wait, why aren't you slowed?"  The magician's voice was angry and panicked.

"I can punch through a wall or lift a car.  You think your petty little magics can slow me?"  Alucard's eyes burned.  He moved in a blur of red and black, slamming into his enemy and lifting him over and off the bed and onto the floor on the far side.  They rolled a few times until Alucard was astride the other man, the Casull pressed to his sternum and the Jackal pressed to his temple.  "Goodbye," was all he said, then pulled the triggers.  Red exploded over the carpet, mixed with grey and yellow.  What little splattered on Alucard was absorbed by his clothing by the time he stood up.  He turned back to the bed, and his Master, and was completely arrested by the sight of her.

She lay, completely exposed from the waist up.  His constant, mocking smile was gone as he fought to tear his eyes from the soft, smooth skin over her collarbones, fought not to slide his eyes down her chest to her breasts, and the thin, red line between them.  He could smell the sweet, hot blood pumping though her veins.  He lifted his eyes to hers and watched the anger bleed away as lust rose to full them and that scent filled the air again.

"Alucard."  It was a whisper, and a plea.

She blinked as something in the room changed.  Out of the corner of her eye she saw the candles begin to flicker and dance again, and the bullet fall to the floor.  Rising on unsteady legs she moved to collect a bucket and water.  Please, gods, let me undo this. 

Integra watched him.  The heaviness that had soaked her body was gone, but a different weight held her in place.  Her loins tightened, and her heart pounded as she watched him look her over.  She whispered his name, and trembled as he moved towards the bed.

Carefully, she moved around the circle, dripping water and putting the candles out with a hiss.  She found herself still pleading with the gods, hoping, praying, that she could make this all come right.

Alucard's steps were a mockery of his usual graceful stride as he moved towards the bed.  He stood, fighting a losing battle with himself as he watched her, bound, naked, helpless, beautiful.  He couldn't help himself.  He leaned over Integra and ran his cold tongue along the line of red that graced her breast, feeling her writhe and gasp beneath him.  He moved his tongue up, over her throat, probing yesterdays wound as Integra moaned, before locking his mouth on hers.

 She raised the pail over her head.  With this water I shall set free, the one from under this curse that be, by the powers of the Gods in me, as we will it SO MOTE IT BE!  The bucket tilted, then loosed it's flood over the table and poppet, drenching both and washing away the chalk markings.  Silence that wasn't really silence rang in her ears, and she knew the gods had heard.

Integra's eyes flew open, and she stiffened abruptly.  Alucard removed his mouth from hers and grinned.  That was enough.  Integra drew her leg up, then pistoned her foot squarely into his balls.  As he staggered back, pale face going even paler, Integra looked down and flushed, then cursed herself for it.  After a moment of struggle, futilely attempting to rearrange her shirt to cover herself somehow, she nearly jumped out of her skin as Alucard's gloved hands grabbed the edges and pulled them together and back into place.  She did not even feel his glove brush her skin once.

Integra glared at him as he reached up and hooked his fingers in the handcuff, and, with a shriek of tortured metal, yanked it open.  She rolled away from him, over the bed, to stand on the other side.  Yanking the draw in the bedside table open, she drew out a small, silver plated pistol.  She knew how ridiculous she must look, shirt open, bra cut up, one hand still tethered to the bed by a woolly scarf.  Integra ignored it for the one thing she knew she had to do.  She lifted the gun and sighted on the vampires' face and mocking smile.

"Don't. You. Ever. Fucking. Do. That. Again."  With that she pulled the trigger.  Alucard tumbled backwards, but she hadn't managed to wipe the smile off his face.  Damn, she thought.

Tossing the pistol to the bed, she worked the scarf off her wrist, doing no more than glancing up as Seras kicked the door in, and a woozy-looking Walter stared around the frame.  Holding her shirt closed with one hand, she turned to the astonished duo.

"Walter, have the cleaning staff come up here to remove that and clean up the mess.  I'm going to have a shower, and I don't want it here when I get out.  Oh, and get the door fixed."

"Yes, Sir Integra," he managed, then visibly pulled himself together and took off down the hall.

Integra raised her eyebrows at Seras.  "Did you want something, Officer Victoria?"  Seras, past speech from the mess on the floor and the fact she could only see her Master's boots past the bed on the floor, shook her head.  "Then go away."  Seras turned and fled.  Integra delicately stepped past the pools of blood and worse on the floor, walking around the bed and stopping by the prone vampire, prodding him with her foot.  "You go away too."  His grin grew wider as he simply sank through the floor.

  
"Welcome back, Master," was all he said.

She gathered up another suit and stomped into her bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.  She realised when she was obsessively scrubbing her chest and neck that she would not be able to easily scrub Alucard's touch, like marble wrapped in velvet, from her mind.  Or her enjoyment of it.

There was a gentle tap on the study door.  "Come in," Integra ordered, riffling through the stack of paperwork that seemed to have grown much larger in size during her… incapacity.

Walter entered the room, pushing the tea tray before him.  He deftly served her, placing a cup, a teapot, a light meal and a napkin before her with dexterous speed, then bowed, preparing to take his leave.

"A moment, Walter," Integra said, staring off into the room before focusing on him.  "I…  Are you injured?"

"No, just a bump on the head."  The old retainers' voice was almost cheerful.  "The repairs to your bedroom are almost complete.  They've had to take the carpet up, so I took the liberty of choosing a new colour."

Integra nodded, then pushed a piece of paper across the desk at him.  "This is a description of that magician.  Before he ruined my carpet, he said something about being paid for his efforts.  I want to know by whom.  And we need to look into some kind of arcane protection for the manor.  He just waltzed right in."  Walter gathered up the paper and turned to leave once more.  "I'm sorry," she blurted suddenly.  "For kicking you.  And everything else."

Walter turned back, a full smile on his face.  "There's nothing for you to apologise for.  But I would like to know where you learned all those words.  It certainly wasn't from me."

An answering, small smile quirked Integra's lips upward.  "A girl can't grow up around soldiers and learn nothing, you know."  Walter bowed again and retreated as Integra lit a cigar and dragged another piece of paper towards her, that small smile still on her lips.

Integra tossed and turned, unable to sleep.  She swung between acute embarrassment, anger, and something that she would not admit was longing.  The grin on Alucard's face mocked her, even now.  She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until she got an answer from that bastard.  Snarling silently, she lunged from her bed, dressed hurriedly, then stomped to the cellar.

Alucard watched Integra storm down the corridor towards him.  So little difference between the last time and this, yet so much, he mused.  She was once again in disarray, tie and cross pin missing, but this time her eyes were filled with anger instead of lust, and she stopped a good two meters away from him.   This made him grin, which caused her to get even angrier.

"Is there something I can do for you, Master?" he smirked.

"Tell me why."  He blinked.  "More than once in this whole sorry mess I offered you my body and my blood.  Why didn't you take m- them?"

Alucard just stared at her for a moment.  Then he threw back his head and laughed uproariously.  Integra felt herself blushing, then scowled and glared.  When he'd simmered down, his voice was still extremely amused.

"Now here's a funny thing.  I thought you'd be praising my restraint, not questioning why I didn't… take advantage."

His laughter had brought her temper to the boil.  "He was right.  You are a eunuch."  She spoke before thinking.  Faster than her eye could track, Alucard was out of his chair and had crossed the distance separating them.  He went from frenetic motion to charged stillness, the edges of his coat brushing her legs, but nothing else touching her.  Integra clamped down on the desire to step back and tilted her head to glower into his eyes.

When he spoke, his voice was a low, rough hiss.  "Don't take your frustrations out on me, Master."  He'd never spoken that word with as much contempt as he did now.  "You hide in a man's suit, first to get those Round Table fools to take you seriously, then because you knew no other way.  The police girl threatens you, because, even though she's abundantly female, no one treats her as a weak woman."  Integra began to tremble in anger.  "The side you've been hiding for all these years has woken, and you blame me for not following through, for not quenching that fire that burns within you even now, at a time when you could blame it on a spell."  His voice grew even lower, an intimate growl that tugged things low in her stomach no hand was ever meant to touch.  "But when you come to me, and you will, you'll come of your own free will, Integra.  Anything else and the game would be spoilt."  He leaned forward, his face a breath away from hers.  "And I'll make your little lust dreams look like the pale shadows they are."

"How dare you?" she whispered, afraid that he was right.

"Because I can read your mind, Master."  A gloating smile crossed his face as he leaned back.  "I'm immortal.  I have eternity.  How long are you willing to wait, knowing that only I can put that fire out?"  Integra backed up, one step, two.

"You lie."  There was no conviction in her voice.  "I'll never-" her voice broke.  "Never.  You had your chance vampire.  You'll never get another."  His smile said it all.  Yes I will, it said, and when I do, you'll beg.  "No."  She turned and fled down the darkened corridor, Alucard's mocking laughter haunting her steps.


End file.
